A Lake County Circuit Court judge recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by former Highwood Deputy Fire Chief Ronald Pieri, who challenged a city commission’s authority to terminate his employment.

Highwood officials stopped paying Pieri in 2013, two years after his arrest on criminal charges related to payroll fraud. But Pieri’s employment status remained in limbo years after he was found guilty in 2015 of a felony count of falsifying time sheets.

Highwood Fire and Police Commission members were conducting hearings on Pieri’s employment status in January 2018, when his attorney, Harold Saalfeld, filed suit seeking a temporary restraining order. The suit also sought a declaratory judgement that the position of deputy fire chief was outside the commission’s purview.

Both requests were denied Jan. 23 by Circuit Court Judge Luis Berrones. At the conclusion of the three-day trial, Berrones ruled in favor of the commission and Highwood City Manager Scott Coren.

Berrones’ ruling kicks the question of Pieri’s termination back to the commission. Neither Pieri nor Saalfeld responded to requests for comment.

“We are pleased with the judge’s decision, and we look forward to moving ahead with the hearings to bring this matter to a resolution,” Coren said.

Pieri, who once served as Highwood’s Fire Chief, was the highest ranking member of the department, the husband of a sitting alderman and the son of a former alderman when he was arrested in late 2011.

While Pieri was placed on administrative leave following his 2011 arrest, he continued to draw his $66,000 annual salary until the fall of 2013, when the Highwood Board of Fire and Police Commissioners voted to suspend him without pay.

The commission’s hearings on Pieri's employment status eventually were put on hold, pending the outcome of the criminal trial.

In December 2015, Lake County Circuit Court Judge Victoria Rosetti found Pieri guilty of one count of false entry.

He was found not guilty on two counts of official misconduct and two counts of theft of government property. Prosecutors dropped the most serious count, theft of $100,00 or more, before the case went to trial.

At the time, he was sentenced to two years' probation and 150 hours of community service.

Later, in March 2016, Highwood residents voted to dissolve the city’s fire department and turn fire and paramedic services over to the City of Highland Park.